Hey I like the sound of that Falcon just getting a few more people to see Victoria and maybe like her would make this thread more than worthwhile With all the posts we lost this original thread was lost completely so I've had to do a bit of catching up this morning. Getting there now but its always a pleasure to see and talk Victoria

Yeah Chris...but she has to start winning...how old is she? among the younger lot I though Tamira Paszek showed a lot of promise...but i don't see her living up to it...

She's 19 right now Falcon. The first title in Brisbane was so important after the previous 4 Final defeats and I said right from the beginning of this year its a huge one for Victoria and this is where she will make her move. She's moved from 16 to 14 in the first week of the year and I fully expec her to be well inside the top 10 at the end of 2009 and getting to the 2nd weeks of Grand Slams and towards the latter stages much more from this year onwards. She's worked very hard on her fitness and consistency during the offseason and this showed so clearly in Brisbane where Victoria was looking so much better and just crushing her opponents. She didn't drop a set all week and looked so comfortable with her game. The way she applied herself and played in Brisbane she would hav given any player a real match. I've said since early last year this is one to real look out for and I most definitely believe Victoria has got a huge future ahead of her, winning a lot of titles

So the draw is out for the Australian Open and Victoria is seeded number 13(so I'm hoping thats a good omen for her as I spoke about yesterday with Maria winning her first Slam as 13th seed) The draw has been very unkind to Victoria as 1st round she will play Hobart winner from this week Kvitova of the Czech Republic. And if we can look ahead at all with a 1st round match like that then Victoria could face Mauresmo in the 3rd round and Serena in the 4th round!

You didn't get your wish Dallas, as Victoria and Serena are in the same 1/8 of the draw and Venus is in the same half!!

Yeah Chris...but she has to start winning...how old is she? among the younger lot I though Tamira Paszek showed a lot of promise...but i don't see her living up to it...

She's 19 right now Falcon. The first title in Brisbane was so important after the previous 4 Final defeats and I said right from the beginning of this year its a huge one for Victoria and this is where she will make her move. She's moved from 16 to 14 in the first week of the year and I fully expec her to be well inside the top 10 at the end of 2009 and getting to the 2nd weeks of Grand Slams and towards the latter stages much more from this year onwards. She's worked very hard on her fitness and consistency during the offseason and this showed so clearly in Brisbane where Victoria was looking so much better and just crushing her opponents. She didn't drop a set all week and looked so comfortable with her game. The way she applied herself and played in Brisbane she would hav given any player a real match. I've said since early last year this is one to real look out for and I most definitely believe Victoria has got a huge future ahead of her, winning a lot of titles

19 is young Chris...I hope she continues to do well...it would be great if she could take out a big name too. I don't know much about Vesnina either...gosh there are so many many girls out there! Will have to find some one I like pretty soon...I'm losing interest in the WTA

Yeah Chris...but she has to start winning...how old is she? among the younger lot I though Tamira Paszek showed a lot of promise...but i don't see her living up to it...

She's 19 right now Falcon. The first title in Brisbane was so important after the previous 4 Final defeats and I said right from the beginning of this year its a huge one for Victoria and this is where she will make her move. She's moved from 16 to 14 in the first week of the year and I fully expec her to be well inside the top 10 at the end of 2009 and getting to the 2nd weeks of Grand Slams and towards the latter stages much more from this year onwards. She's worked very hard on her fitness and consistency during the offseason and this showed so clearly in Brisbane where Victoria was looking so much better and just crushing her opponents. She didn't drop a set all week and looked so comfortable with her game. The way she applied herself and played in Brisbane she would hav given any player a real match. I've said since early last year this is one to real look out for and I most definitely believe Victoria has got a huge future ahead of her, winning a lot of titles

19 is young Chris...I hope she continues to do well...it would be great if she could take out a big name too. I don't know much about Vesnina either...gosh there are so many many girls out there! Will have to find some one I like pretty soon...I'm losing interest in the WTA

I'm very confident Victoria will be taking out a few big names this season and turning herself into a big name within the next 12-18 months Elena V is a little older at 22 now, and has 7 wins against top 20 players and only last week beat one of the best rising young players Wozniacki in Auckland and then you see this week how close Wozniacki was to beating Serena(holding 3 matchpoints against her) and it makes Elena's win even more significant. Elena's career high ranking is 44 but she's slipped back into the 70s of late, but the 7 wins against top 20 players show she really ought to achieve a much higher ranking than she has. I've followed her now for coming upto 3 years. Elena is a player who will look to finish some points off at the net when she has the chance and is currently ranked Russia's number 1 doubles player. She won the Indian Wells doubles title last year with Safina and made the Amelia Island Final with Victoria. A big part and ever present of the Fed Cup team as well the past 3-4 years for Russia. If she can play with more consistency and show the game more often as she did last week she could make it into the top 30 to begin with and then take it up from there. Elena had a very good offseason and worked very hard on improving her game thats why last weeks result was so satisfying for her. In Melbourne she will be playing Julie Coin of France.

Definitely Falcon you need to get out on the look and find a new WTA player to follow, it makes things much more interesting then I love to pick a player when they're young and ranked low as I did in particular with Maria, and then to a slightly smaller degree Maria K, Victoria and Elena V as then it feels as if you've followed them all their career and you can understand them more. It makes it so much more special I fel as well then if they do well on win something

Yeah Chris...but she has to start winning...how old is she? among the younger lot I though Tamira Paszek showed a lot of promise...but i don't see her living up to it...

She's 19 right now Falcon. The first title in Brisbane was so important after the previous 4 Final defeats and I said right from the beginning of this year its a huge one for Victoria and this is where she will make her move. She's moved from 16 to 14 in the first week of the year and I fully expec her to be well inside the top 10 at the end of 2009 and getting to the 2nd weeks of Grand Slams and towards the latter stages much more from this year onwards. She's worked very hard on her fitness and consistency during the offseason and this showed so clearly in Brisbane where Victoria was looking so much better and just crushing her opponents. She didn't drop a set all week and looked so comfortable with her game. The way she applied herself and played in Brisbane she would hav given any player a real match. I've said since early last year this is one to real look out for and I most definitely believe Victoria has got a huge future ahead of her, winning a lot of titles

19 is young Chris...I hope she continues to do well...it would be great if she could take out a big name too. I don't know much about Vesnina either...gosh there are so many many girls out there! Will have to find some one I like pretty soon...I'm losing interest in the WTA

I'm very confident Victoria will be taking out a few big names this season and turning herself into a big name within the next 12-18 months Elena V is a little older at 22 now, and has 7 wins against top 20 players and only last week beat one of the best rising young players Wozniacki in Auckland and then you see this week how close Wozniacki was to beating Serena(holding 3 matchpoints against her) and it makes Elena's win even more significant. Elena's career high ranking is 44 but she's slipped back into the 70s of late, but the 7 wins against top 20 players show she really ought to achieve a much higher ranking than she has. I've followed her now for coming upto 3 years. Elena is a player who will look to finish some points off at the net when she has the chance and is currently ranked Russia's number 1 doubles player. She won the Indian Wells doubles title last year with Safina and made the Amelia Island Final with Victoria. A big part and ever present of the Fed Cup team as well the past 3-4 years for Russia. If she can play with more consistency and show the game more often as she did last week she could make it into the top 30 to begin with and then take it up from there. Elena had a very good offseason and worked very hard on improving her game thats why last weeks result was so satisfying for her. In Melbourne she will be playing Julie Coin of France.

Definitely Falcon you need to get out on the look and find a new WTA player to follow, it makes things much more interesting then I love to pick a player when they're young and ranked low as I did in particular with Maria, and then to a slightly smaller degree Maria K, Victoria and Elena V as then it feels as if you've followed them all their career and you can understand them more. It makes it so much more special I fel as well then if they do well on win something

Well said Chris You were perhaps fortunate to see Maria really climb up the rankings and win so much and become such a good player...but then I get disappointed when a particular player doesn't live up to the billing...anyway, I hope one of these girls really does well...

Yeah Chris...but she has to start winning...how old is she? among the younger lot I though Tamira Paszek showed a lot of promise...but i don't see her living up to it...

She's 19 right now Falcon. The first title in Brisbane was so important after the previous 4 Final defeats and I said right from the beginning of this year its a huge one for Victoria and this is where she will make her move. She's moved from 16 to 14 in the first week of the year and I fully expec her to be well inside the top 10 at the end of 2009 and getting to the 2nd weeks of Grand Slams and towards the latter stages much more from this year onwards. She's worked very hard on her fitness and consistency during the offseason and this showed so clearly in Brisbane where Victoria was looking so much better and just crushing her opponents. She didn't drop a set all week and looked so comfortable with her game. The way she applied herself and played in Brisbane she would hav given any player a real match. I've said since early last year this is one to real look out for and I most definitely believe Victoria has got a huge future ahead of her, winning a lot of titles

19 is young Chris...I hope she continues to do well...it would be great if she could take out a big name too. I don't know much about Vesnina either...gosh there are so many many girls out there! Will have to find some one I like pretty soon...I'm losing interest in the WTA

I'm very confident Victoria will be taking out a few big names this season and turning herself into a big name within the next 12-18 months Elena V is a little older at 22 now, and has 7 wins against top 20 players and only last week beat one of the best rising young players Wozniacki in Auckland and then you see this week how close Wozniacki was to beating Serena(holding 3 matchpoints against her) and it makes Elena's win even more significant. Elena's career high ranking is 44 but she's slipped back into the 70s of late, but the 7 wins against top 20 players show she really ought to achieve a much higher ranking than she has. I've followed her now for coming upto 3 years. Elena is a player who will look to finish some points off at the net when she has the chance and is currently ranked Russia's number 1 doubles player. She won the Indian Wells doubles title last year with Safina and made the Amelia Island Final with Victoria. A big part and ever present of the Fed Cup team as well the past 3-4 years for Russia. If she can play with more consistency and show the game more often as she did last week she could make it into the top 30 to begin with and then take it up from there. Elena had a very good offseason and worked very hard on improving her game thats why last weeks result was so satisfying for her. In Melbourne she will be playing Julie Coin of France.

Definitely Falcon you need to get out on the look and find a new WTA player to follow, it makes things much more interesting then I love to pick a player when they're young and ranked low as I did in particular with Maria, and then to a slightly smaller degree Maria K, Victoria and Elena V as then it feels as if you've followed them all their career and you can understand them more. It makes it so much more special I fel as well then if they do well on win something

Well said Chris You were perhaps fortunate to see Maria really climb up the rankings and win so much and become such a good player...but then I get disappointed when a particular player doesn't live up to the billing...anyway, I hope one of these girls really does well...

I was extremely blessed with Maria for sure Falcon I saw her in the Juniors at Wimbledon in 2002 and kept an eye on her results as much as possible, and then when I properly started following her in March 2003 she was ranked almost 160. I saw something I loved about Maria, she for such a young girl had such a focus and determination out there on court. Also at the time it looked like she would develop much more of an all court game(that wasn't to be as much as I'd have liked) but thats why I'm so into Maria and desperate to see her succeed because it feels as if I was with her right from the start of her professional and Tour career. If they don't live upto the billing as you say it is frustrating and there is disappointment but if they do well and maybe win a few things for me anyway there's no greater feeling as a tennis supporter. I could never support a player properly who has already made their mark or very close to the top part of the game. I love picking out a player I see who has something about them and following all their career Thanks as well, and I so hope too atleast 1 of my other girls after Maria does really well- I definitely have Victoria down as my big hope there

Yeah Chris...but she has to start winning...how old is she? among the younger lot I though Tamira Paszek showed a lot of promise...but i don't see her living up to it...

She's 19 right now Falcon. The first title in Brisbane was so important after the previous 4 Final defeats and I said right from the beginning of this year its a huge one for Victoria and this is where she will make her move. She's moved from 16 to 14 in the first week of the year and I fully expec her to be well inside the top 10 at the end of 2009 and getting to the 2nd weeks of Grand Slams and towards the latter stages much more from this year onwards. She's worked very hard on her fitness and consistency during the offseason and this showed so clearly in Brisbane where Victoria was looking so much better and just crushing her opponents. She didn't drop a set all week and looked so comfortable with her game. The way she applied herself and played in Brisbane she would hav given any player a real match. I've said since early last year this is one to real look out for and I most definitely believe Victoria has got a huge future ahead of her, winning a lot of titles

19 is young Chris...I hope she continues to do well...it would be great if she could take out a big name too. I don't know much about Vesnina either...gosh there are so many many girls out there! Will have to find some one I like pretty soon...I'm losing interest in the WTA

I'm very confident Victoria will be taking out a few big names this season and turning herself into a big name within the next 12-18 months Elena V is a little older at 22 now, and has 7 wins against top 20 players and only last week beat one of the best rising young players Wozniacki in Auckland and then you see this week how close Wozniacki was to beating Serena(holding 3 matchpoints against her) and it makes Elena's win even more significant. Elena's career high ranking is 44 but she's slipped back into the 70s of late, but the 7 wins against top 20 players show she really ought to achieve a much higher ranking than she has. I've followed her now for coming upto 3 years. Elena is a player who will look to finish some points off at the net when she has the chance and is currently ranked Russia's number 1 doubles player. She won the Indian Wells doubles title last year with Safina and made the Amelia Island Final with Victoria. A big part and ever present of the Fed Cup team as well the past 3-4 years for Russia. If she can play with more consistency and show the game more often as she did last week she could make it into the top 30 to begin with and then take it up from there. Elena had a very good offseason and worked very hard on improving her game thats why last weeks result was so satisfying for her. In Melbourne she will be playing Julie Coin of France.

Definitely Falcon you need to get out on the look and find a new WTA player to follow, it makes things much more interesting then I love to pick a player when they're young and ranked low as I did in particular with Maria, and then to a slightly smaller degree Maria K, Victoria and Elena V as then it feels as if you've followed them all their career and you can understand them more. It makes it so much more special I fel as well then if they do well on win something

Well said Chris You were perhaps fortunate to see Maria really climb up the rankings and win so much and become such a good player...but then I get disappointed when a particular player doesn't live up to the billing...anyway, I hope one of these girls really does well...

I was extremely blessed with Maria for sure Falcon I saw her in the Juniors at Wimbledon in 2002 and kept an eye on her results as much as possible, and then when I properly started following her in March 2003 she was ranked almost 160. I saw something I loved about Maria, she for such a young girl had such a focus and determination out there on court. Also at the time it looked like she would develop much more of an all court game(that wasn't to be as much as I'd have liked) but thats why I'm so into Maria and desperate to see her succeed because it feels as if I was with her right from the start of her professional and Tour career. If they don't live upto the billing as you say it is frustrating and there is disappointment but if they do well and maybe win a few things for me anyway there's no greater feeling as a tennis supporter. I could never support a player properly who has already made their mark or very close to the top part of the game. I love picking out a player I see who has something about them and following all their career Thanks as well, and I so hope too atleast 1 of my other girls after Maria does really well- I definitely have Victoria down as my big hope there

You are right about Maria lacking an all court game...as a matter of fact it was exactly the same time last year that she surprised everybody by incorporating that sliced backhand to her repetoire...it was amazing as she had been out almost the entire end of 07 and then coming up with such a drastic improvement in her game...it was really impressive...she' still young..I'd like to see her build up her net game as well...that would also increase her longevity on court. I'd start liking her all the more too Darn now i really miss her

Yeah Chris...but she has to start winning...how old is she? among the younger lot I though Tamira Paszek showed a lot of promise...but i don't see her living up to it...

She's 19 right now Falcon. The first title in Brisbane was so important after the previous 4 Final defeats and I said right from the beginning of this year its a huge one for Victoria and this is where she will make her move. She's moved from 16 to 14 in the first week of the year and I fully expec her to be well inside the top 10 at the end of 2009 and getting to the 2nd weeks of Grand Slams and towards the latter stages much more from this year onwards. She's worked very hard on her fitness and consistency during the offseason and this showed so clearly in Brisbane where Victoria was looking so much better and just crushing her opponents. She didn't drop a set all week and looked so comfortable with her game. The way she applied herself and played in Brisbane she would hav given any player a real match. I've said since early last year this is one to real look out for and I most definitely believe Victoria has got a huge future ahead of her, winning a lot of titles

19 is young Chris...I hope she continues to do well...it would be great if she could take out a big name too. I don't know much about Vesnina either...gosh there are so many many girls out there! Will have to find some one I like pretty soon...I'm losing interest in the WTA

I'm very confident Victoria will be taking out a few big names this season and turning herself into a big name within the next 12-18 months Elena V is a little older at 22 now, and has 7 wins against top 20 players and only last week beat one of the best rising young players Wozniacki in Auckland and then you see this week how close Wozniacki was to beating Serena(holding 3 matchpoints against her) and it makes Elena's win even more significant. Elena's career high ranking is 44 but she's slipped back into the 70s of late, but the 7 wins against top 20 players show she really ought to achieve a much higher ranking than she has. I've followed her now for coming upto 3 years. Elena is a player who will look to finish some points off at the net when she has the chance and is currently ranked Russia's number 1 doubles player. She won the Indian Wells doubles title last year with Safina and made the Amelia Island Final with Victoria. A big part and ever present of the Fed Cup team as well the past 3-4 years for Russia. If she can play with more consistency and show the game more often as she did last week she could make it into the top 30 to begin with and then take it up from there. Elena had a very good offseason and worked very hard on improving her game thats why last weeks result was so satisfying for her. In Melbourne she will be playing Julie Coin of France.

Definitely Falcon you need to get out on the look and find a new WTA player to follow, it makes things much more interesting then I love to pick a player when they're young and ranked low as I did in particular with Maria, and then to a slightly smaller degree Maria K, Victoria and Elena V as then it feels as if you've followed them all their career and you can understand them more. It makes it so much more special I fel as well then if they do well on win something

Well said Chris You were perhaps fortunate to see Maria really climb up the rankings and win so much and become such a good player...but then I get disappointed when a particular player doesn't live up to the billing...anyway, I hope one of these girls really does well...

I was extremely blessed with Maria for sure Falcon I saw her in the Juniors at Wimbledon in 2002 and kept an eye on her results as much as possible, and then when I properly started following her in March 2003 she was ranked almost 160. I saw something I loved about Maria, she for such a young girl had such a focus and determination out there on court. Also at the time it looked like she would develop much more of an all court game(that wasn't to be as much as I'd have liked) but thats why I'm so into Maria and desperate to see her succeed because it feels as if I was with her right from the start of her professional and Tour career. If they don't live upto the billing as you say it is frustrating and there is disappointment but if they do well and maybe win a few things for me anyway there's no greater feeling as a tennis supporter. I could never support a player properly who has already made their mark or very close to the top part of the game. I love picking out a player I see who has something about them and following all their career Thanks as well, and I so hope too atleast 1 of my other girls after Maria does really well- I definitely have Victoria down as my big hope there

You are right about Maria lacking an all court game...as a matter of fact it was exactly the same time last year that she surprised everybody by incorporating that sliced backhand to her repetoire...it was amazing as she had been out almost the entire end of 07 and then coming up with such a drastic improvement in her game...it was really impressive...she' still young..I'd like to see her build up her net game as well...that would also increase her longevity on court. I'd start liking her all the more too Darn now i really miss her

Spot on Falcon, that improvement with a completely different shot in Maria's game in the slice backhand was a major improvement and gave her game something else completely. And just look at the results back this time last year with that shot in her armoury, as well as a much improved serve(before the shoulder issue started again) and improved fitness. Thats why I thought Maria was in for a very special year with the new dimension in her game and the serve working so well and setting up the points much better for her. Just a shame the injury had to hit when it did an finish Maria's season really in March. Talking about her makes me miss her so much more as well especially with Australia just 3 days away You are completely right on Maria trying to get more of a net game into her play too. For sure she's never going to have great vollies or be somebody who will serve and volleysay 10 times a match or something but if she could just look at getting to the net more to finish points off it would shorten rallies, matches and give her a little more energy for the latter stages of tournaments. Maria was looking to get this into her game just a little more during the offseason 2007 and early part of 2008 but the shoulder kind of put paid to that. But lets hope WHEN Maria comes back fully fit she will have the excellent serve working again, continue using that slice backhand at times and look to get to net to finish points off much more Then maybe with all that we may see you too liking her quite a bit more

Yeah Chris...but she has to start winning...how old is she? among the younger lot I though Tamira Paszek showed a lot of promise...but i don't see her living up to it...

She's 19 right now Falcon. The first title in Brisbane was so important after the previous 4 Final defeats and I said right from the beginning of this year its a huge one for Victoria and this is where she will make her move. She's moved from 16 to 14 in the first week of the year and I fully expec her to be well inside the top 10 at the end of 2009 and getting to the 2nd weeks of Grand Slams and towards the latter stages much more from this year onwards. She's worked very hard on her fitness and consistency during the offseason and this showed so clearly in Brisbane where Victoria was looking so much better and just crushing her opponents. She didn't drop a set all week and looked so comfortable with her game. The way she applied herself and played in Brisbane she would hav given any player a real match. I've said since early last year this is one to real look out for and I most definitely believe Victoria has got a huge future ahead of her, winning a lot of titles

19 is young Chris...I hope she continues to do well...it would be great if she could take out a big name too. I don't know much about Vesnina either...gosh there are so many many girls out there! Will have to find some one I like pretty soon...I'm losing interest in the WTA

I'm very confident Victoria will be taking out a few big names this season and turning herself into a big name within the next 12-18 months Elena V is a little older at 22 now, and has 7 wins against top 20 players and only last week beat one of the best rising young players Wozniacki in Auckland and then you see this week how close Wozniacki was to beating Serena(holding 3 matchpoints against her) and it makes Elena's win even more significant. Elena's career high ranking is 44 but she's slipped back into the 70s of late, but the 7 wins against top 20 players show she really ought to achieve a much higher ranking than she has. I've followed her now for coming upto 3 years. Elena is a player who will look to finish some points off at the net when she has the chance and is currently ranked Russia's number 1 doubles player. She won the Indian Wells doubles title last year with Safina and made the Amelia Island Final with Victoria. A big part and ever present of the Fed Cup team as well the past 3-4 years for Russia. If she can play with more consistency and show the game more often as she did last week she could make it into the top 30 to begin with and then take it up from there. Elena had a very good offseason and worked very hard on improving her game thats why last weeks result was so satisfying for her. In Melbourne she will be playing Julie Coin of France.

Definitely Falcon you need to get out on the look and find a new WTA player to follow, it makes things much more interesting then I love to pick a player when they're young and ranked low as I did in particular with Maria, and then to a slightly smaller degree Maria K, Victoria and Elena V as then it feels as if you've followed them all their career and you can understand them more. It makes it so much more special I fel as well then if they do well on win something

Well said Chris You were perhaps fortunate to see Maria really climb up the rankings and win so much and become such a good player...but then I get disappointed when a particular player doesn't live up to the billing...anyway, I hope one of these girls really does well...

I was extremely blessed with Maria for sure Falcon I saw her in the Juniors at Wimbledon in 2002 and kept an eye on her results as much as possible, and then when I properly started following her in March 2003 she was ranked almost 160. I saw something I loved about Maria, she for such a young girl had such a focus and determination out there on court. Also at the time it looked like she would develop much more of an all court game(that wasn't to be as much as I'd have liked) but thats why I'm so into Maria and desperate to see her succeed because it feels as if I was with her right from the start of her professional and Tour career. If they don't live upto the billing as you say it is frustrating and there is disappointment but if they do well and maybe win a few things for me anyway there's no greater feeling as a tennis supporter. I could never support a player properly who has already made their mark or very close to the top part of the game. I love picking out a player I see who has something about them and following all their career Thanks as well, and I so hope too atleast 1 of my other girls after Maria does really well- I definitely have Victoria down as my big hope there

You are right about Maria lacking an all court game...as a matter of fact it was exactly the same time last year that she surprised everybody by incorporating that sliced backhand to her repetoire...it was amazing as she had been out almost the entire end of 07 and then coming up with such a drastic improvement in her game...it was really impressive...she' still young..I'd like to see her build up her net game as well...that would also increase her longevity on court. I'd start liking her all the more too Darn now i really miss her

Spot on Falcon, that improvement with a completely different shot in Maria's game in the slice backhand was a major improvement and gave her game something else completely. And just look at the results back this time last year with that shot in her armoury, as well as a much improved serve(before the shoulder issue started again) and improved fitness. Thats why I thought Maria was in for a very special year with the new dimension in her game and the serve working so well and setting up the points much better for her. Just a shame the injury had to hit when it did an finish Maria's season really in March. Talking about her makes me miss her so much more as well especially with Australia just 3 days away You are completely right on Maria trying to get more of a net game into her play too. For sure she's never going to have great vollies or be somebody who will serve and volleysay 10 times a match or something but if she could just look at getting to the net more to finish points off it would shorten rallies, matches and give her a little more energy for the latter stages of tournaments. Maria was looking to get this into her game just a little more during the offseason 2007 and early part of 2008 but the shoulder kind of put paid to that. But lets hope WHEN Maria comes back fully fit she will have the excellent serve working again, continue using that slice backhand at times and look to get to net to finish points off much more Then maybe with all that we may see you too liking her quite a bit more

I'm sorry Chris I shouldn't have brought up her name....lets enjoy the present field...we'll wait for the day when Maria will win her next slam...we'll continue wit Victoria (aka Steffi )

I'll help some Chris but it'll be later tonight. I have meetings all day today! I also have to revise some of the post I did in roger's thread and stan's thread.

That'll be great Dallas Thankfully I was off work today so I've completely rebuilt this thread as it had gone all together after last night But since it was Victoria it was easy to do loads about her again and also I've been able to have some nice and good discussions with Falcon and we may have another fan of Victoria in Falcon I hope Roger's and Stans threads don't take too long to revise I know how frustrating it was when I came on this morning and saw I'd lost over 300 posts.

Yeah Chris...but she has to start winning...how old is she? among the younger lot I though Tamira Paszek showed a lot of promise...but i don't see her living up to it...

She's 19 right now Falcon. The first title in Brisbane was so important after the previous 4 Final defeats and I said right from the beginning of this year its a huge one for Victoria and this is where she will make her move. She's moved from 16 to 14 in the first week of the year and I fully expec her to be well inside the top 10 at the end of 2009 and getting to the 2nd weeks of Grand Slams and towards the latter stages much more from this year onwards. She's worked very hard on her fitness and consistency during the offseason and this showed so clearly in Brisbane where Victoria was looking so much better and just crushing her opponents. She didn't drop a set all week and looked so comfortable with her game. The way she applied herself and played in Brisbane she would hav given any player a real match. I've said since early last year this is one to real look out for and I most definitely believe Victoria has got a huge future ahead of her, winning a lot of titles

19 is young Chris...I hope she continues to do well...it would be great if she could take out a big name too. I don't know much about Vesnina either...gosh there are so many many girls out there! Will have to find some one I like pretty soon...I'm losing interest in the WTA

I'm very confident Victoria will be taking out a few big names this season and turning herself into a big name within the next 12-18 months Elena V is a little older at 22 now, and has 7 wins against top 20 players and only last week beat one of the best rising young players Wozniacki in Auckland and then you see this week how close Wozniacki was to beating Serena(holding 3 matchpoints against her) and it makes Elena's win even more significant. Elena's career high ranking is 44 but she's slipped back into the 70s of late, but the 7 wins against top 20 players show she really ought to achieve a much higher ranking than she has. I've followed her now for coming upto 3 years. Elena is a player who will look to finish some points off at the net when she has the chance and is currently ranked Russia's number 1 doubles player. She won the Indian Wells doubles title last year with Safina and made the Amelia Island Final with Victoria. A big part and ever present of the Fed Cup team as well the past 3-4 years for Russia. If she can play with more consistency and show the game more often as she did last week she could make it into the top 30 to begin with and then take it up from there. Elena had a very good offseason and worked very hard on improving her game thats why last weeks result was so satisfying for her. In Melbourne she will be playing Julie Coin of France.

Definitely Falcon you need to get out on the look and find a new WTA player to follow, it makes things much more interesting then I love to pick a player when they're young and ranked low as I did in particular with Maria, and then to a slightly smaller degree Maria K, Victoria and Elena V as then it feels as if you've followed them all their career and you can understand them more. It makes it so much more special I fel as well then if they do well on win something

Well said Chris You were perhaps fortunate to see Maria really climb up the rankings and win so much and become such a good player...but then I get disappointed when a particular player doesn't live up to the billing...anyway, I hope one of these girls really does well...

I was extremely blessed with Maria for sure Falcon I saw her in the Juniors at Wimbledon in 2002 and kept an eye on her results as much as possible, and then when I properly started following her in March 2003 she was ranked almost 160. I saw something I loved about Maria, she for such a young girl had such a focus and determination out there on court. Also at the time it looked like she would develop much more of an all court game(that wasn't to be as much as I'd have liked) but thats why I'm so into Maria and desperate to see her succeed because it feels as if I was with her right from the start of her professional and Tour career. If they don't live upto the billing as you say it is frustrating and there is disappointment but if they do well and maybe win a few things for me anyway there's no greater feeling as a tennis supporter. I could never support a player properly who has already made their mark or very close to the top part of the game. I love picking out a player I see who has something about them and following all their career Thanks as well, and I so hope too atleast 1 of my other girls after Maria does really well- I definitely have Victoria down as my big hope there

You are right about Maria lacking an all court game...as a matter of fact it was exactly the same time last year that she surprised everybody by incorporating that sliced backhand to her repetoire...it was amazing as she had been out almost the entire end of 07 and then coming up with such a drastic improvement in her game...it was really impressive...she' still young..I'd like to see her build up her net game as well...that would also increase her longevity on court. I'd start liking her all the more too Darn now i really miss her

Spot on Falcon, that improvement with a completely different shot in Maria's game in the slice backhand was a major improvement and gave her game something else completely. And just look at the results back this time last year with that shot in her armoury, as well as a much improved serve(before the shoulder issue started again) and improved fitness. Thats why I thought Maria was in for a very special year with the new dimension in her game and the serve working so well and setting up the points much better for her. Just a shame the injury had to hit when it did an finish Maria's season really in March. Talking about her makes me miss her so much more as well especially with Australia just 3 days away You are completely right on Maria trying to get more of a net game into her play too. For sure she's never going to have great vollies or be somebody who will serve and volleysay 10 times a match or something but if she could just look at getting to the net more to finish points off it would shorten rallies, matches and give her a little more energy for the latter stages of tournaments. Maria was looking to get this into her game just a little more during the offseason 2007 and early part of 2008 but the shoulder kind of put paid to that. But lets hope WHEN Maria comes back fully fit she will have the excellent serve working again, continue using that slice backhand at times and look to get to net to finish points off much more Then maybe with all that we may see you too liking her quite a bit more

I'm sorry Chris I shouldn't have brought up her name....lets enjoy the present field...we'll wait for the day when Maria will win her next slam...we'll continue wit Victoria (aka Steffi )

Hey don;t worry Falcon, Maria is always in my head and even more so with the draw being out today and Maria's name missing so these last 6 months I've very much got used to it and can only continue looking forward to seeing Maria come back and about the present Victoria being a huge part of that. Seems you may become a fan of Victoria which would be great With your comparison in looks to Steffi, I just hope Victoria can win 25% of the titles Steffi did